Hosting Your First Thanksgiving: How Tech Can Help

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By Evan Wade

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So you’ve agreed to host your first Thanksgiving, and things are going well. The outfit you’ve chosen is impeccable. Your kitchen tools are prepared and organized. Your driveway is decorated with the finest wooden pilgrims and poofy paper turkey-things money can buy.

But the closer you get to the big day, the harder it is to shake the worry that eats away at your confidence. You’re getting ready to cook a complex meal for multiple people . . . on what many people consider the most important eating holiday of the year . . . and you need to clean the house and get it ready to entertain multiple guests. The list of stressors goes on.

There’s no need to panic, though. With the right kitchen tools and other automated devices, you can handle your first Thanksgiving like a pro. Breathe a sigh of relief and get ready to show your guests a stunning display of hospitality—because they’ll be there soon, whether you’re ready or not:

Gauge That Meat

If you’re going traditional with your turkey or ham (that is to say, using an oven to cook instead of a fryer or some other contraption), getting the temperature just right is by far the most important part of the process. While any old meat thermometer will get the job done, some temp-taking technologies are better than others.

This is where the Wireless Bluetooth Meat Thermometer by Kalorik comes in handy. The device beams temperature information directly to your iOS or Android device via Bluetooth, making it easy to get a perfect read of your bird’s (or pig’s) temperature.

Even better, the app’s pre-programmed settings mean your device alerts you when your masterpiece is ready to get flipped or get served. This makes the thermometer great for quashing over- and undercooking concerns, which can respectively turn your food into culinary leather or make your guests seriously ill—because neither outcome is acceptable on your first Thanksgiving.

Clean That Floor

Then there’s the need to present a spotless house. While kitchen tools are handy, this task is one that truly sneaks up on you. You think you’ve got things sparkling until moments before your guests arrive. Then, suddenly, all you see is dirt! It’s everywhere! And you can’t do anything about it!

This is a problem you need to nip in the bud, and iRobot’s Roomba 761 is just the tool for the job. The device learns your home’s layout (including stairs and other potentially damaging features), then uses a high-tech combination of filters, brushes, and other tools to vacuum the multiple surfaces that comprise your floors.

Got hardwood? Carpet? The Roomba detects these surfaces and several others, automatically cleaning each with the appropriate tool. Throw in its wet floor-scrubbing cousin, the Scooba, and you have two automated allies ready to clean while you handle the important stuff.

Manage That Ambiance

Some people will tell you that fretting over the “tone” of your dining area is overthinking. These people are wrong.

Ambiance can be the difference between a good first Thanksgiving and a great one. Do it right, and people won’t even know why they had such a good time at your event. They’ll just know they can’t wait for next year.

The Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit by Philips can help. Want a certain color combo from your lights while you eat? It can do that, then automatically switch over to something different (and dimmer) when you retire to the living room to watch football. Got last-minute changes? The app offers deep customization options right on your phone or tablet’s touchscreen. You can even show it a photo of the room you’re installing it in and use it to accent the space’s dominant colors.

A good first Thanksgiving is about more than cutting-edge kitchen tools—make sure you have every aspect of your hosting game covered.